Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI Trims Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI decreased its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 0.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 140,223 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 327 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up about 2.1% of Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI’s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest position. Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $26,544,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. LMR Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the third quarter worth about $32,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 518.8% during the fourth quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the period. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, PayPay Securities Corp increased its position in Alphabet by 36.1% in the 4th quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 245 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.53, for a total transaction of $33,106.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 7,813 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,293,285.89. The trade was a 2.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 16,820 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.62, for a total transaction of $3,239,868.40. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 43,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,471,620.22. This trade represents a 27.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 93,048 shares of company stock valued at $17,374,274 in the last 90 days. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on GOOGL shares. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Alphabet from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Wolfe Research lifted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Wedbush boosted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Robert W. Baird restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Alphabet presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $210.59.

Alphabet Stock Up 0.7 %

GOOGL stock opened at $163.99 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $182.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $176.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a current ratio of 1.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.00 trillion, a P/E ratio of 20.37, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.02. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $147.22 and a one year high of $207.05.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a return on equity of 32.49% and a net margin of 28.60%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.94%.

Alphabet Company Profile

Alphabet Inc offers various products and platforms in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia-Pacific, Canada, and Latin America. It operates through Google Services, Google Cloud, and Other Bets segments. The Google Services segment provides products and services, including ads, Android, Chrome, devices, Gmail, Google Drive, Google Maps, Google Photos, Google Play, Search, and YouTube.